Minister of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Manuel de Jesus Florentino considered that repression of Haitians illegally coming to the DR is not the solution to the Haitian problem in the DR. The Listín Diario reports that the Dominican military has given Dominican soldiers the order to avoid confrontations with the Haitian population. The Minister of the Armed Forces urged that there be an improvement in the living conditions along the frontier with Haiti and an increase in international economic assistance to Haiti to improve living conditions there. The government has stepped up the repatriations of Haitians and controls along the border as a reaction to the consensus of Dominicans that rejected the OAS recommendations to nationalize illegal Haitians living in the DR. The government was criticized for its laissez-faire attitude to the growing flow of illegal Haitians in the DR. El Siglo reports that all seemed normal in the frontier area on market day. Minister of the Armed Forces said that commerce must continue and be strengthened. Thousands of Haitians and Dominicans go in an out of Haiti to deal at the frontier markets.
